Storage jar, Spain

Storage jar, Spain, Granada, 1375–1425. Museum no. 125-1897

Storage jar
Spain, Granada
1375-1425
Tin-glazed earthenware, with incised and stamped decoration
Museum no. 125-1897

Although the wing-like handles and long neck of this huge jar have been lost, it was clearly once a prestigious object. The vertical bands of abstract flowers are similar to those used in the Alhambra, the palace in Granada of Spain's last Muslim rulers, the Nasrid dynasty (ruled 1238-1492).

Red-glazed wine cup, China

Red-glazed wine cup, China, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty, 1403–24. Museum no. 168A-1905

Red-glazed wine cup
China, Jingdezhen
Ming dynasty, 1403-24
Glazed porcelain
Museum no. 168A-1905

Red-glazed porcelain of the Ming period is rare. The colour is difficult to achieve because it is made using copper, which is very unstable during firing.

Red wares were first made at the insistence of the Yongle emperor. He commissioned them with porcelain of other colours for use on altars in his new capital, Beijing. But knowledge of firing the red correctly was lost again by 1435.

Broken-mouthed jar, Japan

Broken-mouthed jar, Japan, Shigaraki kilns, 1400–50. Museum no. FE.20-1984

Broken-mouthed jar
Japan, Shigaraki kilns
1400-50
Stoneware, with natural ash glaze
Museum no. FE.20-1984

This jar possesses a rugged beauty long prized in Japanese aesthetics. Three ridges reveal that it was made by the coiling method, not on a potter's wheel. The cracking and pitting were caused by the uneven melting of minerals in the clay and the burning off of organic matter. The streaky glaze was created naturally by wood ash in the kiln. The broken mouth signals its everyday use in the past.

Drug jar with leopards, Italy

Drug jar with leopards, Italy, probably Florence, 1420–50. Museum no. 2562-1856

Drug jar with leopards
Italy, probably Florence
1420-50
Tin-glazed earthenware, with decoration painted into the glaze
Museum no. 2562-1856

About 1400, Tuscan potters began to make tin-glazed wares inspired by imports from Spain. They used a thicker, whiter glaze with designs crudely applied in cobalt blue, often with outlines in manganese purple. The expensive tin was only used on visible surfaces: the interior is lead-glazed.

A row of such boldly patterned drug jars would have been an impressive feature of a hospital pharmacy.

Lustre bowl and cover, Spain

Lustre bowl and cover, Spain, probably Manises, 1440–60. Museum no. 7659&A-1862

Lustre bowl and cover
Spain, probably Manises
1440-60
Tin-glazed earthenware, with decoration painted into and lustre over the glaze
Museum no. 7659&A-1862

By 1400, Manises, near Valencia, was the main centre for the production of lustre ceramics. Its export markets included the Middle East, where the lustre technique had originally begun.

Manises lustre wares were also popular in Italy. In 1407 an Italian merchant ordered 199 pieces, including 'three large bowls, their covers painted inside and out', a description that would fit this piece.

Dish with lion amid clouds, Vietnam

Dish with lion amid clouds, Vietnam, Hai Duong region, 1480–1500. Museum no. FE.10-1987

Dish with lion amid clouds
Vietnam, Hai Duong region
1480-1500
Stoneware, the blue painted before glazing, with enamelled and gilded decoration over the glaze
Museum no. FE.10-1987

Vietnamese stonewares reached a high point in 1450-1500. Some were produced in an indigenous style for local use. Others, such as this dish, followed Chinese models and were made for export.

Many similar pieces have been excavated in Java and Thailand or recovered from shipwrecks in south-east Asian waters.

Floor tile with portrait, Italy

Floor tile with portrait, Italy, probably Pesaro, about 1480. Museum no. 12-1890

Floor tile with portrait
Italy, probably Pesaro
About 1480
Tin-glazed earthenware, with decoration painted into the glaze
Museum no. 12-1890

The Spanish introduced tin-glazed floor tiles to Italy in the 1440s. Italian potters were soon producing their own, outstripping their Spanish models in the refinement of their designs. Such Italian wares were known as maiolica.

This tile is from a pavement in the convent of San Paolo in Parma. The floor includes portraits of smart young men and women and emblems of courtly love.

Footed bowl, Italy

Footed bowl, Italy, Ferrara, 1480–1500. Museum no. 187-1866

Footed bowl
Italy, Ferrara
1480-1500
Earthenware, with moulded and incised slip decoration and coloured glazes
Museum no. 187-1866

In the main design, a naked youth fights a dragon held on a leash by a young woman. The scene was incised through light-coloured slip (liquid clay) to reveal the dark earthenware beneath. This technique, first practised in China, reached Italy after 1200.

Incised slipware was most popular in northern Italy. This, the most ambitious example known, was made for the ducal court in Ferrara.

Boy playing the bagpipes, Italy

Boy playing the bagpipes, Italy, Florence, 1490–1520. Museum no. 4677-1858

Boy playing the bagpipes
Italy, Florence
1490-1520
Tin-glazed earthenware, with decoration painted into the glaze
Museum no. 4677-1858
Given by HRH the Prince Consort

Andrea della Robbia, to whom this statue is attributed, belonged to a famous Florentine family of sculptors. He succeeded his uncle, Luca, who was an early exponent of the Renaissance style in Florence.

Luca was the first to make large-scale architectural sculpture in tin-glazed earthenware. Seated figures like this can be found surmounting altarpieces from the Della Robbia workshop.

Attributed to Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525)

Dish with maiolica painter, Italy

Dish with maiolica painter, Italy, Cafaggiolo, about 1510. Museum no. 1717-1855

Dish with maiolica painter
Probably painted by Maestro Jacopo
Italy, Cafaggiolo
About 1510
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours
Museum no. 1717-1855

Maiolica is the name given to tin-glazed wares made in Italy. Potters exploited the white surface of maiolica as a blank canvas on which to apply the new ornamental and figurative designs of the Italian Renaissance.

This dish was made in a workshop established by the Medici rulers of Florence. Its painter exalted his own status by showing a finely dressed artist at work in the presence of his patrons.

Dish with Gothic beast, Spain

Dish with Gothic beast, Spain, Seville, 1500–30. Museum no. 300-1893

Dish with Gothic beast
Spain, Seville
1500-30
Tin-glazed earthenware, with cuerda seca decoration
Museum no. 300-1893

The dish's design uses the cuerda seca (dry cord) technique. The potter first drew the outlines in a mixture of manganese and grease and then filled them with coloured glazes. The greasy lines kept the different colours separate during firing, but the grease itself burned away.

Cuerda seca was mainly a tilework technique, but from about 1480 it was also used for vessels decorated in a new Gothic style.

Blue-and-white basin, Turkey

Blue-and-white basin, Turkey, probably Iznik, about 1530. Museum no. C.257-1921

Blue-and-white basin
Turkey, probably Iznik
About 1530
Fritware, painted before glazing
Museum no. C.257-1921

In the 1470s, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II settled fritware potters in the small town of Iznik, near Istanbul. They were soon making some of the most accomplished Islamic ceramics.

The shapes were borrowed from metalwork, and the designs were in the Ottoman court style. But the colour scheme came from Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. After 1500, other colours came into use, including the touches of turquoise used here.

The Peixoto Ewer, China

The Peixoto Ewer, China, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty, 1522–66. Museum no. C.222-1931

The Peixoto Ewer
China, Jingdezhen
Ming dynasty, 1522-66
Porcelain, painted before glazing, with Iranian silver mounts. Mark: 'Made in the Jiajing reign period of Great Ming'
Museum no. C.222-1931
W.G. Gulland Bequest

This is one of the earliest pieces of Chinese porcelain made for a European. The design includes the arms of the Portuguese merchant Antonio Peixoto, who first reached China in 1542.

This type of ewer was originally made for the Middle Eastern market, to which Portuguese traders sold porcelain. The contemporary Iranian mounts may have been added on Peixoto's return journey.

Jug with bearded face, Germany

Jug with bearded face, Germany, Cologne, about 1550. Museum no. 112-1908

Jug with bearded face
Germany, Cologne
About 1550
Salt-glazed stoneware, with relief-moulded decoration and iron wash
Museum no. 112-1908

The earliest European stoneware was produced in the Rhineland in 1300-50, having developed separately from the East Asian tradition. After 1400, potters learned to throw salt into the kiln to create a tight-fitting glaze. Salt-glazed stonewares became very popular and were widely exported.

This type of jug is called a Bartmann ('beard man') in German, a reference to the bearded face on the neck.

Tile with celestial warrior, China

Tile with celestial warrior, China, Shanxi province, Ming dynasty, dated 1548. Museum no. C.71-1939

Tile with celestial warrior
China, Shanxi province
Ming dynasty, dated 1548
Stoneware, with coloured lead glazes
Museum no. C.71-1939
Given by Mrs E.L. Cockell, in memory of Edward Lawrence Cockell

The armed warrior in high relief is probably the Buddhist deity, Wei Tuo. The tile is from an architectural frieze. An inscription on the back explains that it was made for a Buddhist temple in a village in northern China.

The body is high-fired stoneware, but it bears a low-firing lead glaze. The tile would therefore have been fired twice.

Inscription: 'Zhending prefecture, Jingjing county, Yi-an community, Mashan village, Fuchang temple. Rebuilt 27th year of Jiajing, 5th month, 18th day'

Footed bowl and cover, France

Footed bowl and cover, France, probably Paris 1550–75. Museum no. 8715&A-1863

Footed bowl and cover
Possibly made in the workshop of Bernard Palissy (1509/10-90)
France, probably Paris
1550-75
Lead-glazed earthenware, with moulded and inlaid decoration
Museum no. 8715&A-1863

Only 70 or so examples of this distinctive French ware survive. The decoration was made by stamping patterns into the surface and filling them with clays in contrasting colours.

Such wares were long associated with the village of Saint-Porchaire in western France. But they were more likely made in Paris, perhaps by Bernard Palissy. The presence of the royal arms suggests that they were made for the French court.

Blue-and-white flask, Italy

Blue-and-white flask, Italy, Florence, 1575–87. Museum no. C.137-1914

Blue-and-white flask
Italy, Florence
1575-87
Soft-paste porcelain, painted before glazing
Museum no. C.137-1914

Francesco de' Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, financed an early attempt to manufacture porcelain in Europe. Starting in 1568, his workshop made a material very close to Islamic fritware. Production ceased at Francesco's death in 1587, and only about 70 pieces survive.

The shape of this flask is derived from metalwork. But the hazy decoration in blue was inspired by either Chinese porcelain or its Middle Eastern counterparts.

Dish with snake in relief, France

Dish with snake in relief, France, 1570–90. Museum no. C.2313-1910

Dish with snake in relief
Probably made by Bernard Palissy (1509/10-90) or workshop
France
1570-90
Moulded earthenware, with coloured lead glazes
Museum no. C.2313-1910.

Bernard Palissy was the most original French potter of his time. His most famous work is decorated with plants and animals cast from life and glazed in vivid colours.

Such pieces combine Palissy's experiments in ceramics with his love of natural history. He shared these interests with France's Catholic rulers, with whom he found favour despite his ardent Protestantism.

Stove tile with Tudor rose, England

Stove tile with Tudor rose, England, probably Surrey or Hampshire, 1550–1600. Museum no. C.383-1940

Stove tile with Tudor rose
England, probably Surrey or Hampshire
1550-1600
Earthenware, moulded and lead-glazed
Museum no. C.383-1940

Tile-clad stoves were widely used for heating in northern Europe after 1400. They were probably introduced to England by German potters, who settled south-east of London. In England, however, only the very rich installed such stoves.

The badge of the Tudor dynasty was the rose and crown. The initials ER refer either to Edward VI (1547-53) or Elizabeth I (1558-1603).

Jar for tea ceremony, Japan

Jar for tea ceremony, Japan, Bizen kilns, 1590–1630. Museum no. 191-1877

Jar for tea ceremony
Japan, Bizen kilns
1590-1630
Stoneware, with natural ash glaze, firing marks and incised decoration
Museum no. 191-1877

This jar contained the cold water used in the tea ceremony. The ceremony is associated with a taste for the simple and the restrained (wabi), which is matched by the jar's roughness and irregularity. The glaze deliberately uses a chance effect - the result of wood ash settling on the jar during firing.

The jar is an early example of purpose-made tea ware. Previously, ceramics made for other purposes had been used.